Mohammed Zubair's arrest: Journalists shouldn't be jailed, says UN
In response to the arrest of journalist and co-founder of the fact-checking platform Alt News, Mohammed Zubair, the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday said, "Journalists should not be jailed for what they write, tweet and say." A spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, asserted that it was important that people express themselves freely without the threat of any harassment.
Responding to a question at the daily news briefing on Mohammed Zubair's arrest, Dujarric further said, "And that goes for anywhere in the world, including in this room." A Delhi court remanded Zubair to four-day police custody on Tuesday. The Delhi Police arrested him on Monday in a case involving an "objectionable" tweet that allegedly hurt religious sentiments and was detrimental to communal harmony.
ANI quoted the police as saying the current case was registered based on a complaint by Twitter user Hanuman Bhakt (@balajikijaiin) over a 2018 tweet by Zubair. He had posted an image of a hotel signboard, writing, "BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel." The user Hanuman Bhakt urged cops to take action as Zubair's tweet was a "direct insult of Hindus."
On Tuesday, Zubair's lawyer Vrinda Grover told the Delhi court her client had only shared a screenshot from a 1983 movie—Hrishikesh Mukherjee's classic Kissi Se Na Kehna—that was cleared by the censor board. Grover said many others had also tweeted the same. Yet, Zubair was targeted because of his name, faith, and profession, she claimed, referring to him being a Muslim and a journalist.
Further, the UN Human Rights agency has called for the release of activist Teesta Setalvad, who was arrested on the charges of "criminal conspiracy, and placing false evidence in court" in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Setalvad was detained in Mumbai and shifted to Gujarat on Saturday, and was subsequently arrested on Sunday. An Ahmedabad court had on Sunday sent her to five-day police custody.
Teesta Setalvad, a Mumbai-based journalist and activist, is the secretary and founding trustee of the non-profit organization Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), which was founded after the 2002 Gujarat riots. Setalvad was a co-petitioner, while Zakia Jafri was the main petitioner in the Supreme Court (SC) case that was dismissed on Friday, contesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's exoneration.
The SC had dismissed the petition challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to the then Gujarat CM Modi calling it "devoid of merits". The appeal was filed by Jafri, wife of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the violence at Ahmedabad's Gulberg Society in 2002. Jafri had challenged the 2017 Gujarat High Court order rejecting her plea against the SIT.
